For myself, only twice. Once coming back from Hong Kong, with a short connection at DFW, around 1990. AA delivered the bag to my home in Houston next day.

Another time, 1998, flying BOS-MSP-YQR (Regina, Canada). Short connection at MSP because of delay. Went to YQR to pick up luggage next day at the customs office there.

That's it. I do check bags about 50% of the time now. For long trips to Hong Kong/China, and on the return legs from Europe.

Here's tidbit posted on our company's internal website about traveling and checking bags - put a copy of your itinerary inside the bag. If the outer tag gets torn off, they can look inside and the airline can see where you are and where you are going.

You can thank a travel agency for that tip...

My first overseas trip was in 1989 as part of a high school exchange with students in Spain. On the return trip (AA I believe) one of my two matching blue suitcase made it back to Boston via JFK. The second disappeared at JFK. I cried over the loss of new clothes and gifts, filled out the paperwork, and was reimbursed about $300. Six months later, I got a call from Air Pakistani Airlines saying they had my bag. Didn't even know such an airline existed! My bag was intact with nothing missing and covered in tape and labels written in what I assumed were middle eastern languages. So, I got the cash and the bag...eventually!

rkkwan, be careful next time when you fly. you had baggage prob in 1990, then 1998, I think another one is lurking...it's 2007;)

We check our main bags, and have small carryons with absolute necessities.

Our only delay was when we visited Fairbanks in the winter; I took an extra case to the airport, and we put our coats, gloves, scarfs, hats, etc. into this case after arriving at our local airport and checked it, since I didn't want to deal with those bulky items during the flight. When we arrived at Fairbanks, it was 45 below zero, and guess which bag they had misplaced. We sprinted to the shuttle, and from the shuttle into the hotel, and early the next day the airline delivered the lost bag; I know my wife was disappointed as she wanted a new coat.

Most of our flights involve a plane change, and it is not uncommon that there is, for one reason or another, little time between flights, but our luggage has always made the connection, even when we didn't. Today we arrived at IAH at 1010am, and our connecting flight had started loading at 0950, so we really had to hustle to make the connection (they seem to always involve two far separated gates, too), but our bags arrived at home with us. I know a man who worked in baggage handling, and he said they had a specially assigned person on their crew to expedite bags where there is little time, and they certainly must know their way around their airport better than me. One time, we were unable to make a connection, so they put us on a later flight; when we got home, our bags were not on the carrousel, so I went into the luggage office to file the requisite report, and our bags were sitting in the office - they had made the connection when we couldn't.

When I think of how many pieces of luggage are handled, the time constraints, and the often poor condition of the luggage, I think the airlines do a pretty good job in this respect.